The 2017 season saw tremendous performances from star players across Major League Baseball. As a result, several of their rookie cards and autograph cards gained tremendous value with collectors. Let’s take a look at some of the top baseball cards from the 2017 season based on player performance and demand in the collectibles marketplace.
Aaron Judge Topps Base Rookie Card (2017 Topps #132)
Judge had one of the greatest rookie seasons in baseball history with 52 home runs for the New York Yankees. His monster performance immediately skyrocketed the value of his 2017 Topps base rookie card. Pristine graded versions of this card in a PSA 10 Gem Mint were selling for over $20,000 by the end of the season. Even raw, ungraded versions fetched prices around $800-1,000 due to his star power and limited production amount of the Topps flagship set. Judge will likely go down as one of the most valuable rookie cards of the 2010s and could possibly reach the rarified air of cards like Mike Trout and Bryce Harper in years to come if he sustains his superstar caliber play.
Cody Bellinger Topps Base Rookie Card (2017 Topps Update Series #US-44)
Bellinger got off to a scorching start for the Los Angeles Dodgers after being called up in late April, launching 25 home runs in just half a season. This propelled him to win the NL Rookie of the Year award and sparked huge demand for his 2017 Topps Update Series rookie card. Top graded versions in PSA 10 sold for over $1,000 by season’s end with raw copies around $150-200. While not quite at Judge’s level, Bellinger seemed poised for stardom and his cards saw outstanding appreciation compared to other rookies from that same set.
Clint Frazier/Blake Rutherford Chrome RC Autograph Patch Card (2017 Bowman’s Best #61/150)
This dual relic card featuring two of baseball’s top prospects at the time, Clint Frazier and Blake Rutherford, got snatched up quickly by collectors after its release. Frazier showed flashes of his talent in his MLB debut with the Yankees in 2017 while Rutherford remained in the minors in the White Sox system. Both players were highly regarded, generating tons of buzz that transferred over to this limited parallel card, of which only 150 were printed. Sales ranged from $800-1,200 for top-graded PSA/BGS specimens, though naturally dropped off a bit as their prospect stock leveled off over time. Still, it remained one of the hottest basketball cards of its year.
Juan Soto Topps Chrome RC Autograph (2018 Topps Chrome #338)
Though Soto’s true breakout didn’t come until a late season call-up in 2018, his potential was evident right from the start. The Nationals prospect electrified in his brief MLB cup of coffee that year, leaving collectors salivating over any of his signed cards. His Topps Chrome rookie autograph became one of the most in-demand basketball cards period despite a small sample size. Gem Mint 10 grades pulled in over $2,000 consistently with even raw unsigned versions at a robust $400-500. Soto seemed destined for stardom and positioned this card as a true long-term investment piece for those able to acquire it.
Aaron Nola SP Autograph Patch Jersey Card (2017 Topps Golden Moments #GM-AN)
Phillies ace Aaron Nola cemented himself as one of MLB’s best young starters in 2017, finishing third in NL Cy Young voting for his brilliant season. This resulted in huge collector enthusiasm for any of his high-end signed memorabilia cards. The Topps Golden Moments patch autograph parallel became extremely tough to find PSA 10s of, with those examples selling in the $2,500-$3,000 range. More attainable PSA 9s still commanded $1,000-1,500. Nola had proven himself an elite talent at just 24, guaranteeing this rare jersey card would retain tremendous long term appeal.
Alex Bregman Topps Fire RC Auto Patch (2017 Topps Fire #79)
Astros superstar Alex Bregman broke out in a big way in 2017, finishing second in the AL Rookie of the Year voting after batting .284 with 19 homers and 62 RBI. The hype exploded around any of his Topps Fire rookie patch autographs as a result. PSA 9 specimens were bringing in $600-800 with perfect 10 examples an astounding $1,500-2,000 due to their scarcity. At just 23 years old, Bregman seemed destined for perennial all-star status, locking in amazing returns on his elite signed memorabilia cards from breakout rookie season.
Cody Bellinger Topps Triple Threads Auto Jersey Patch (2017 Topps Triple Threads #84)
As previously mentioned, Bellinger was the talk of baseball throughout much of the 2017 season. This led to immense demand for high-end memorabilia pieces like his Topps Triple Threads dual jersey/auto patch parallel. With a minuscule print run of just 10 copies, these 1/1 rarities soared upwards of $4,000 for the lone specimen to surface publicly that year in PSA grading. Even Bellinger’s cards from sets with larger parallel quantities like Topps Finest saw incredible jumps in value that kept them among the most sought rookie items market-wide all year long.
The 2017 rookie class was stocked with huge future stars that immediately caused many of their autographed and memorabilia cards to command insane prices. From franchise cornerstones like Judge and Bellinger to emerging talents like Nola, Bregman and Soto, this crop of rookies created several all-time coveted baseball cards that collectors jumped all over. It will go down as one of the most valuable classes ever and their early signed cards elevated to truly iconic status among today’s collectors.
